Powell in Kabul amid offensive
 |  Powell spoke at a joint news conference with Karzai in Kabul. |
|  VIDEO |
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has been meeting Afghan leaders in Kabul one day after Pakistani forces killed 24 suspected militants in a fierce gunbattle in the lawless region bordering Afghanistan.
Focusing on terrorism and reconstruction, Powell Wednesday huddled with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and vowed to help protect Afghanistan's border from any possible infiltrators.
"If Taliban elements are forced from Pakistan back into Afghanistan as a result of actions on the Pakistan side of the border, I'm sure that our military forces here working with Afghan forces will deal with those elements," Powell said at a joint news conference with Karzai.
U.S. and Pakistani officials say they believe remnants of the Taliban, Afghanistan's former Muslim rulers, and the al Qaeda terrorist network may be hiding out in the region. Some also suspect al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington -- may also be in the area.
"We are glad and happy for what Pakistan is now doing on their territory to chase terrorists and to arrest them," Karzai added.
"From this forum, I would like to give them a categorical reassurance that Afghanistan will stay firmly with the government of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism and that we are willing to extend every cooperation."
The brief visit from America's top diplomat comes as U.S. forces prepare for a spring offensive against al Qaeda and Taliban fighters from the Afghan side, in a bid to capture the suspected militants in the middle.
Powell's talks with Karzai and U.S. generals about the war on terror came one day after urging Pakistan to ramp up its military operations near the border to catch militant leaders.
Alongside killing 24 suspected militants in the border battle on Tuesday, Pakistani forces captured 18 suspects near the town of Wana, and they are being questioned by intelligence agencies.
Intelligence sources said most of those killed or captured were foreign fighters, not Pakistanis.
At least 15 soldiers were killed and more than two dozen wounded in the gunfight, according to Pakistan Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.
Pakistan forces have launched a number of sweeps for "suspected foreign terrorists" along the border after Afghan and U.S. officials complained they were escaping to sanctuaries in Pakistan.
About 70,000 Pakistan forces are in the tribal regions.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led war on terror and survived two attempts on his own life last year. On Monday he vowed to rid the areas of suspected terrorists.
'Mountain Storm'
On the other side of the border, the U.S. military is planning a spring offensive across southern and eastern Afghanistan, called Operation "Mountain Storm."
|  Pakistani paramilitary soldiers man a machinegun at a checkpost in Wana. |
They hope to catch al Qaeda and Taliban members in the middle as the U.S. and Pakistani militaries press in from both sides.
Already U.S. military operations in Afghanistan have been stepped up. A series of weekend raids in Afghanistan's mountainous border region with Pakistan resulted in the deaths of three anti-coalition fighters, and netted 13 captives.
U.S. officials have said that ground troops and aircraft are expected to move into Afghanistan's southeastern border region near Pakistan in the next few weeks.
As the weather warms and the snow melts, Taliban and al Qaeda fighters are becoming more active with U.S. troops reporting an increase in firefights and rocket attacks on their bases.
More fighters are also expected to move across the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan where U.S. forces plan to be waiting for them.
Military officials said they don't expected U.S. forces in Afghanistan will increase beyond the current level of 11,000.
CNN Islamabad Bureau Chief Ash-har Quraishi and Producer Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report.
